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The Mercedes-Benz S-Class comes in many shapes and sizes: sedan, coupe, convertible, even stretched-wheelbase limousine. But there’s one body style that’s never been worthy, apparently, of the fabled S-Class badge — the station wagon. It’s not that Mercedes has anything against wagons — the E-Class is proof enough of that — but as the range-topping executive car, the Sonderklasse was apparently never seen as a good fit for a family-optimized two-boxy body.
That, however, wasn’t enough to stop Caro of Hamburg, which turned a limited run of W126-generation S-Classes into station wagons. And right now, you’ve got a rare chance to buy one that’s already here in the United States.
This 1990 Mercedes-Benz 560 TEL wagon is being auctioned off by the Stuart Parr Collection, and to steal Mary Poppins’s line, it’s practically perfect in every way. The Euro-spec car boasts short bumpers and glass headlights, along with a wide license plate spot up front that’s perfect for a fake German plate. Under the hood lies a 5.5-liter V8 — which, at the time, was the most powerful engine fitted to an S-Class, with 296 horses on call.
Inside, the interior looks lovingly well-worn in the way you’d expect of a Cold War-era Benz that was both well-maintained and driven for more than 63,000 miles. The marquee attraction, of course, is the commodious boot, looking capable of swallowing practically half a cubic yard of whatever you can find and deem worthy of its carpeted surfaces. It, like the rest of the build, was completed to original factory standards, so this S-Class wagon should be
The price? Well, there’s none listed — the listing simply says “inquire” — but given the rarity and condition of the car, we’re guessing it’ll sell for well into six figures. Sure, you could buy a nice sedan version of the same model for far less — this ’90 560 SEL with 73,000 miles up on eBay Motors is sure to be a far easier fiscal pill to swallow — but then you wouldn’t be getting the S-Class wagon that Mercedes never made, would you?
